The Washington D.C. based Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a television ad that willfully misleads voters on healthcare. This ad in addition to Antonio Delgado’s rhetoric at the recent Ulster Co. debate and his own healthcare ad, highlight the false attacks that Democrats are using this election season.
Antonio Delgado has attacked John Faso accusing him of trying to take health care away from people with pre-existing conditions and instituting a health care “age tax” on seniors. BOTH CLAIMS ARE FALSE.
CLAIM: Faso voted to take health care away from constituents with pre-existing conditions
RATING: FALSE
A Washington Post Fact Checker Analysis gave this claim Four Pinocchios (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/05/10/kamala-harriss-claim-that-129-million-people-with-preexisting-conditions-could-be-denied-coverage/?utm_term=.e48ec4648bf7)
FACT CHECK: John Faso voted for the American Health Care Act of 2017 which would have replaced Obamacare with patient-centered reforms that created more choices and gave individuals and families with greater purchasing power, lower costs and more control of their health care.
“The Affordable Care Act failed to deliver on its promises, hurting millions of families and small businesses with increased insurance premiums and decreased quality of care. I voted to replace that law with an alternative that would reduce health care costs, improve consumer choice, and finally relieve New York property taxpayers of the Medicaid burden forced on them by Albany politicians. This is an important issue so I have continued to work on it with others including fellow members of the bipartisan ‘Problem Solvers Caucus’, where we have focused on developing a solution that protects Medicare, covers pre-existing conditions, and makes healthcare more affordable and accessible for every American.” – John Faso
The legislation specifically addressed the issue of preexisting conditions by stating that the bill cannot be construed in any way other than to maintain protections for patients with pre-existing conditions.
Straight from the bill text:
“No Limiting Access To Coverage For Individuals With Preexisting Conditions.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed as permitting health insurance issuers to limit access to health coverage for individuals with preexisting conditions.” (H.R. 1628, Section 137(b))
The bill also included billions of dollars to offset any potential increases in costs due to the one-year transition period for people in the individual market (about 7% of insureds) who may have previously dropped coverage.
From the Washington Post: “the Republican plan specifically sets aside billions of dollars to help states create high-risk or invisible health pools to assist people if their health condition results in higher premiums or loss of coverage during the one-year transition period.” (Washington Post, 09/19/2018)
Andrea Mitchell
Antonio Delgado and Nancy Pelosi have also repeatedly attacked John Faso with a false claim that John Faso broke his promise to a constituent. These false ads use video footage of a January 2017 protest outside of John’s home in Kinderhook where he told a constituent with a pre-existing condition that he would not take away her access to healthcare. The ad then makes the claim that John’s vote broke a promise to not take away the constituent’s healthcare. This is false.
What’s not stated in the false attack is that the that the woman asking the question is on Medicaid and was never in danger of losing her coverage since Medicaid eligibility is based on income and not medical underwriting. John knew she was on Medicaid because she told him so. Medicaid coverage for the poor and disabled would not have been affected by the AHCA. The AHCA would have returned state reimbursement for the Medicaid expansion from 90% to the normal state reimbursement rate, which in New York’s case is 50%. But all those added to the expansion would have been reimbursed at the higher rate until such time as they cycled off the program. It is true that projected Medicaid spending would have slowed under the AHCA but the program would continue to grow over the next 10 years under the legislation passed by the House.
https://twitter.com/she_fights_evil/status/1018890206999662592
Further, preexisting conditions are not a determinant in Medicaid eligibility. Income is the only determinant.
CLAIM: Faso supports an Age Tax on seniors?
RATING: FALSE
FACT CHECK: In a newly released television ad, Antonio Delgado parrots the false talking point used by Nancy Pelosi’s SuperPAC in an already debunked spot claiming, “The Washington Republican Plan would pave the way for an age tax on seniors.”
Contrary to what Delgado has parroted from one size fits all talking points from D.C. Democrats, there is no such thing as an “Age Tax” in the state of New York. New York law for many years has not permitted use of age as a pricing factor for health insurance. Even more amazing, the “age tax” Delgado criticizes was implemented in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), again showing how gullible or misinformed he is to the facts. On the other hand, perhaps Delgado doesn’t understand because he was, until last year, living in New Jersey.
- “This deceptive argument, coined by AARP last year, is particularly misleading in the context of New York State’s insurance market. Due to a quirk in New York law, the state’s older residents actually stood to save money under the House GOP’s proposal”(Empire Center, 09/05/2018)
- “In New York, however, this ACA rule had no effect, because the state had previously banned age rating completely in the early 1990s.” (Empire Center, 09/05/2018)
- “In the context of New York’s insurance market, the PAC’s one-size-fits-all message turns the facts upside-down.”(Empire Center, 09/05/2018)
Moreover, the so-called ‘age tax’ only applies to those in the individual insurance market – approximately 7% of people with insurance. The policy does not apply to those on Medicare, Medicaid or in group plans such as those sponsored by employers. Delgado deliberately implies that this provision affects all with insurance. It does not and does not even apply in New York State.
Recently AARP of New York put distance between itself and the ad released by Pelosi’s SuperPAC.